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Mega Man
Mega Man, known as Rockman (ロックマン Rokkuman?, from the phrase "Rock 'n Roll") in Japan, also known as Mega or Rock in his original form, is the title character of what has been referred to as the "Classic" Mega Man series developed by Capcom since 1987. The pixel art for Mega Man was created by the designer of the original game in the series, Akira Kitamura (credited under the pseudonym "A.K"), and later turned into a refined illustration by Keiji Inafune.12 Since then, he has become one of the company's primary original characters and continues to be one of the video game industry's most recognizable icons. Having appeared on many gaming systems since the Nintendo Entertainment System, Mega Man has had a wide gaming audience, and his games continue to evolve with the ever-changing hardware demands of modern gaming systems. Mega Man's fictional universe can be divided into seven categories, each featuring different variations and incarnations of the same blue hero. Although "Mega Man," or "Rockman," is usually the name used to describe only the original Mega Man from the classic series, it can also be used less specifically to describe the Mega Man series of fictional works, or the group of adherently named main characters within. Several spin-off series have emerged over the past few years, each one continuing the Mega Man mythos in some unique way, including but not limited to the Mega Man X, Mega Man Legends, and Mega Man Battle Network. A resulting animated series was also produced originally in the United States as well as a number of toys, comics, and collectibles available both in and outside of Japan. Mega Man's role in the original story is to battle the mad scientist Dr. Wily and his ever-growing army of robots, and stop them from taking over Earth by using their own special abilities against them. Utilizing his special Mega Buster arm cannon, and his ability to copy a defeated robot's Special Weapon, Mega Man must travel the world and traverse harsh environments in order to bring Wily's menace to an end. With the help of his creator Dr. Light and his assorted robotic companions, Mega Man's eventual goal is to one day achieve "everlasting peace". Conception and design Although originally the names "Battle Kid" (バトルキッド?), "Mighty Kid" (マイティーキッド?), "Knuckle Kid" (ナックルキッド?), "Rainbow Warrior Miracle Kid" (レインボー戦士 ミラクルキッド?) and "The Battle Rainbow Rockman" (ザ・バトルレインボー ロックマン?), were proposed, Capcom eventually settled on "Rockman" as Mega Man's Japanese moniker. The word "Rock" in Rockman is a reference to the music genre rock and roll, and is meant to work in tandem with his "sister" robot, Roll. Such music-themed naming conventions are present in a number of Keiji Inafune's other character designs, such as Blues. In addition, the original Mega Man titles intentionally incorporated a "Rock, Paper, Scissors" game play mechanic into defeating certain enemies. In parts of the English speaking world, some people call Mega Man "The Blue Bomber" because of his blue armor and high fighting capabilities. Appearance Outside of his armor, Rock appears as a ten-year-old boy with spiky hair, the color of which varies between games from black to brown. His armor, however, resembles that of most other Robot Masters in that it's a skintight bodysuit with large rounded coverings on the lower arms and legs, and typical 'superhero briefs'. Mega Man's primary color is light blue with a dark blue 'trim' (his arms, legs, helmet and 'briefs'). His helmet has a raised light blue square in the forehead and a light blue ridge running straight back from the square, resembling an exclamation mark. His helmet also features round light blue sections with red circles in the center over his ears. He also has red circles in his Mega Buster and below his feet. Something unique to Rock alone amongst his future and alternate counterparts is that he's the only Mega Man with blue eyes, while most of the others have green ones (or brown in the case of Geo and red in the case of Copy X). Personality Mega Man's personality seems to stem from his creator, Dr. Light, whose intention may have been to design Rock based on his own interpretation of a real boy as if it were his very own son. Rock, who would later be upgraded into the super fighting robot known as Mega Man, demonstrates a wide range of emotions, similar to that of a prepubescent boy, not typical of other robots, thus making him unique. Mega Man's primarily extremely courageous and just, choosing to become Mega Man and face the threat Wily posed because he wanted to help and do the right thing. This said he's also a pacifist and in the Mega Man Powered Up pre-boss cutscenes he always tried to find an alternative to violence. This trait was also, to a degree, shown in Mega Man 8 where he questioned Bass as to why they must fight. Along with these traits he's also kind, generous and polite. However, Wily's frequent false repentances have become a constant frustration to Mega Man who appears to developing less patience with him, something that came to a head in the course of Mega Man 7 where he contemplated killing him, though ultimately decided against it. He further pointed out Wily's previous false repentances at the end of Mega Man 9, showing his diminishing patience, however he nonetheless assists him when he becomes ill in Mega Man 10. In other media, Mega Man has also demonstrated strong leadership skills on the occasions where he works with a team. His siblings all notably look up to him and even Proto Man has occasionally shown he's willing to defer to his younger brother for orders.